Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: Wills

Will is a public record if it was probated. Go to Surrogate court in county where they resided when they past and inquire.

Re: Wills

You can check the Surrogate's Court in the county where the grandparents died for a copy of any will.

If they left their estates in living (revocable) trust, there would be no probate, and you should try to find out who their attorney was.

Also, they may have set up ITF ("In Trust For"), or Totten Trust, bank accounts. You should contact the grandparents' tax preparer to try and get an idea of where those accounts may be.

You may contact my office for a brief consultation on this matter.

Re: Wills

A copy of the Will may also be obtained for a small photocopying fee. It is also possible that they may have provided for her under a separate, living trust, which is not usually a public document, so this information may be difficult to obtain, without litigation. Frequently grandparents do it this way, as has been my experience, so the information is not usually available to former spouses.